Château d'Eu
Encyclopedia
Eu, Seine-Maritime
Eu is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.Eu is located near the coast in the eastern part of the department, near the border with Picardie.Its inhabitants are known as the Eudois.-Geography:...
, in the Seine-Maritime
Seine-Maritime
Seine-Maritime is a French department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre...
department of France, in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
.
The château d'Eu stands at the centre of the town and was built in the 16th century to replace an earlier one purposely demolished in 1475 to prevent its capture by the English. The chapel contains the tombs of Henry I, Duke of Guise
Henry I, Duke of Guise
Henry I, Prince of Joinville, Duke of Guise, Count of Eu , sometimes called Le Balafré, "the scarred", was the eldest son of Francis, Duke of Guise, and Anna d'Este...
, and his wife, Catherine de Clèves, who embarked on the construction of the château in 1578. The building was completed almost a century later by the Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans, Duchess of Montpensier, la Grande Mademoiselle. Between 1830 and 1848, the château, which had been the property of the Orléans family since its acquisition by La Grande Mademoiselle in October 1657, served as King Louis-Philippe's summer residence.
In 1964, the city of Eu acquired the château, in which, in 1973, it installed its City Hall and created the Musée Louis-Philippe.
In 1987, the castle, its dependencies and park were classified a Monument historique
Monument historique
A monument historique is a National Heritage Site of France. It also refers to a state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building or a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, or gardens, bridges, and other structures, because of their...
by the French Ministry of Culture.